Boot Camp & Broccoli “Cheese” Dairy-Free Soup

My last post was all about guilty indulgences(#cinnamonandhoneycremebrulee) and boy did I ever satisfy my sweet tooth last week! (Halloween candy hangover) I knew if I didn’t get it out of my system, I would have little success with the boot camp I started today. (yes, I started yet another boot camp & fingers crossed I will see it through to the end) Stay tuned for my random rants throughout the next six weeks as I continue to post and blog about my fitness and nutrition journey as I follow the guidance of fitness trainer/mogul and digital marketing consultant @AmandaTress with her #FASTerwaytoFatLoss program. I have had several friends complete this program and their results were amazing! I mean these women (unlike myself) have had a serious and consistent workout regimen in place and have lost inches and toned up by working out less! This program is proving what I have always believed to be true. Weight loss and body composition is 80% nutrition and 20% fitness. What you put in your body affects everything else from your overall health to how well you fit in “dem” jeans, no matter how hard you workout.

Day one of boot camp (can you see how happy I am?)

I focused on low net carbs. (Total Daily Carbs – Fiber = net carbs).

Another key factor in this boot camp is known as intermittent fasting. Not a full day fast by any means (no chance in hell I’m doing that) but planning your meals and food intake during a 6-8 hour window (i.e. Noon-7pm). I am pretty familiar with this concept because I have also been following the ketogenic diet prior to this program and just finished Quick and Easy Ketogenic Cooking by Maria Emmerich where she also highlights the fasting periods to greater weight loss. The idea is since you have low glycogen stores, your body will use ketones and body fat for energy instead of glycogen. Combine this with a cardio workout in the morning and your sure to be burning those fat stores! (let’s hope it hits my thigh fat stores first!)

So today, I fasted until 12:30 and then had to come up with a low carb solution to satisfy my hunger and quickly! I am not only trying to run a business, answer phones and emails, cater to customers that pop into the shop; I am now trying to log all my food and exercise intake into my fitness pal app, monitor my macros for the day, and cook for other people while refraining from snacking. (WTF was I thinking?) So I made a quick and easy Broccoli Cheese or rather “Nooch” soup. Most of you are thinking, what the heck is Nooch…but if you are “in the know” or have some vegan friends you may have heard this term used before for nutritional yeast. Now before you skip on to the next recipe you MUST trust me when I say this stuff is amazing (coming from a cheese lover) and it tastes just like cheese!

This soup is super easy to make, takes less than 15 minutes, only has six ingredients, and is damn good too! Enjoy!

Creamy Broccoli “Cheese/Nooch” Soup

2 Broccoli Crowns -cut into small florets

1 onion -small diced

5 garlic cloves -minced

1 can of coconut milk or coconut cream

24 oz of beef bone broth (or organic beef broth)

1/2 cup nutritional yeast (I prefer Braggs brand)

In a medium stock pot heat 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil or olive oil on a high heat. Add the onions and saute for two-three minutes. Add in the garlic and continue to stir until fragrant. Add in the broccoli and saute for another three-five minute on medium to high heat. Add the broth and turn heat to medium and continue to cook for another five minutes. In a separate bowl whisk the coconut cream and nutritional yeast together and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the “Cheese” or “Nooch” mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper to taste. This soup can be served chunky with bits of broccoli or pureed by using an immersion blender to blend the soup to a creamy smooth consistency.